Sagrada Familia, the light show..

More gaudy than Gaudí, as part of the ‘La Merce’ festival this year the city of Barcelona has invited guest city Montréal to create a moving fresco on the basilica’s nativity façade.

The show, entitled “Ode à la Vie” is created by Canada’s Moment Factory. This multi-media psychedelic light show lasts 15 minutes and tells an uplifting story of rebirth, hope and beauty. The entire nativity façade is converted into a riot of colour, layed over its already exotic and unusual architecture.

Build something completely different, even garish and ugly, and they will come. You can say that the Sagrada Familia is unique and therefore a must-see in Barcelona. It’s strangely grotesque yet you can’t stay away from it or stop looking at it if you’re in the vicinity. If you think about it, it’s comparable to an accident that involves a bus with lots of casualties. You hate that it happened but you can’t keep from gazing at it!